apronadventuresofsammysalami

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Any Progress is Progress

Any Progress is Progress

It’s has been a bitter sweet moment in the industry for quite some time now. I honestly think that it’s way too easy to get caught up in life now a days and be hard on yourself about almost everything. I still remember what it was like to have a full time job aside from running your own gig like it was yesterday. The struggle and the sleepless nights. It has been 385 days since I last step on a…

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Be Water, My friend.

Empty your mind. Be formless. Shapeless. Like water. You put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can flow, or it can crash. – Bruce lee

Water does whatever it needs to do to keep moving forward.

Life will never be the same again. The only constant thing in this world is change.…

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winning The working hour

Winning The Working Hour

Day 222. Life was never the same again. Can we consider Covid19 as a minor set back?

Even without the virus hanging all around us, life already feels pretty hard, sometimes.

Photo above shows you that it’s already late in the morning and I couldn’t catch a sleep. I was goin back and forth trying to remember who I was with that day, who I’ve talk to while browsing the internet for signs and…

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A New Momentum

Day 142

The world is cold and full of emotions. Sometimes I find it difficult to know what to do, say or even write. Personally, It has been a struggle. Everyone is so fragile and vulnerable right now that making it to the following day seems like impossible. Even hard to celebrate anything when you see friends and colleagues in hospitality hanging up their aprons and shutting down their…

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What to cook today? or cure

What to cook today? or cure

Day 105

Curing is often used as a way of preserving meat or fish to prevent spoilage. This technique of curing fish like salmon uses a wet cure which draws out the a little bit of liquid from the fish males it a lot firmer, as well as add tons of flavor.

Thinly slice Beet cured Salmon

WHAT TO LOOK FOR Try to buy a fish that doesn’t smell fishy (does it make sense?), eyes are bright and skin is…

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Another Hero Lost

Day 90

As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life — and travel — leaves marks on you.

One of the many remarks Tony made that makes perfect sense to me. Earlier in my career, after being exposed to Kitchen Confidential backstage horrors and realized that that was the norm, I have decided to try and embark on a…

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How to Spherify

Birth of Spherification

Spherification is an avant-garde cooking technique introduced at El Bulli in 2003, created by Ferran and his brother Albert Adria. It consists of the controlled gelification of a flavored liquid immerse in a calcium bath, encapsulates it to produce different textures and consistencies while forming a sphere. The main idea behind this technique is to achieve a textural…

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What to Cook Today?

What to Cook Today?

Day 59

Mushrooms are definitely a culinary treat – a wild, umami-bomb ingredient that, you can find everywhere. Surprisingly, the largest living thing on Earth is a humongous fungus.  This edible fungi is enjoyed for their rich, meaty texture and earthy-flavor. The texture is mostly mild, buttery compared to a shellfish or scallops, which makes them an interesting option also for vegetarians.…

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Le Cirque Famous Founder and Italian Restaurateur, Sirio Maccioni, Dies at 88

Sirio Maccioni. Le Cirque NYC | Instagram

Mr. Maccioni was born on April 5, 1932 in Montecatini Terme, Tuscany, a small town in the northwest part of Florence, Italy. At the age of 24, he started traveling and working briefly on different parts of the world and arrived in Manhattan before 1960 and work at the prestigious club, The Colony as a waiter. Maccioni, known for his charm and…

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The Future is Less Meaty.

Day 37

We have not seen a crisis of this magnitude before.  A pandemic so odd that it’s wreaking havoc in the restaurant industry.  As coronavirus continues to decimate the whole industry (including global economy). We are about to witness a lot of your favorite spots to go out of business… unfortunately for some, it might be for a lifetime.

As I have mentioned on my earlier posts, this is a…

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Covid-19: As Economic Threat, An Evolving Pandemic.

The Restaurant Industry around the world is potentially facing a devastating impact from the outbreak. According to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) chief, Sec. Perenia said preliminary estimates indicate that the economy might lose from 0.06 per cent of GDP, or about 11 billion pesos, up to 0.7 per cent, or about 133 billion pesos, if the contagion persists inordinately. –

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Knife life: In The Time of Corona, 2019 - 2020

Knife life: In The Time of Corona, 2019 – 2020

I was born…again in early 2000 inside an Italian restaurant, near a dish washing sink full of soiled plates, dirty glasses and linens, overflowing grease box, shoes soaking on oily water from a clogged drainage, southern part of the metro.

  When I was younger and there’s no school, I would be with my grandma in the kitchen most days looking at her prepare our lunch or dinner, helping whenever I…

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A Quick Guide to COVID-19: What Everyone Should Know

What is COVID-19?

According to WHO, Corona virus disease (COVID-19) aka 2019-nCov is an infectious disease caused by a new virus that had not been previously identified in humans. Corona viruses are zoonotic, pertaining to zoonosis a disease that normally exists in animals but can also infect humans. Meaning they are transmitted between animals and people. But how?

Detailed investigations found…

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For Whom the Bell Tolls

life asked death, “Why do people love me but hate you?” death responded, “Because you are a beautiful lie and I am a painful truth.”

Whenever I heard of someone else’s love one has passed away whether it’s because they have been sick for too long, by accident or heart failure. It brings back tons of memory and feelings that I have experienced from death in our family, particularly the early…

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20/20

  In the middle of February already but I have not posted anything yet. 13 plus unfinished articles were not done and posted last year til today. I wanted to start the new year with a bang! But I got sick instead. Bad case of flu and cough to start the New year. It was about to happen.

On my day job, we were slammed pretty hard everyday since September of last year that lasted through 3rd or 4th…

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Burnt UBE Cheesecake

Makes one 12″ cake No Fail. No mess cheesecake. This is Basque style burnt cheesecake but Filipino inspired.

INGREDIENTS Unsalted butter or Vegetable lard (for pan) 700 gms cream cheese, room temperature 176 W. Sugar 6 large eggs 2 cups heavy or All purpose cream 1 tsp. kosher salt 1 tbsp. vanilla extract 420 gms all-purpose flour 400 gms Whipped Purple Yam “Ube” jam Special Equipment A…

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Life at Sea: The Perfect Storm.

Life at Sea: The Perfect Storm.

TOUCHDOWN LAX.

Good Morning ‘Merica!

After a grueling 13 and half hours of flight from Manila. We arrive in Los Angeles, CA, on a Friday at 7:00 in the morning. It was a bit Cloudy, around 15ºC. Slowly stretching my arms over my head while looking outside the window, grabbing my coat and bag, checking my wallet and passport. Making sure I have everything before we alight the plane.

Lining up at…